Purpose and Goal of IDEA-SA Project

Project Rationale

The World Bank (2015) posited that female leaders can positively influence social standards. Past study shows that economic growth depends on increasing the number of women in the formal labour force (Frederick et al., 2021). Since 60% of women in developing nations work in the informal economy, they are still far from experiencing this transition. Thus, extending the role of women in society and the economy is a crucial driver for change in developing regions. Also, given the significant economic contribution of the construction industry and the potential to be heavily influenced by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, increased female engagement in the sector can accelerate economic growth (Assi, 2020).

IDEA-SA will tackle critical challenges of women’s underrepresentation in higher education and the work environment of an important sector of the economy. On one front, the project will provide an educational window for South Africa to see women in a different light, not as weaker vessels but as active members of the industry with innovative minds and significant values. On the second front, the project will yield an explicit demonstration of what needs to be done to achieve gender balance in the construction industry in the host country. We expect that improvements in gender equality will contribute to growth in employment, progress in career development, and positive change in the social and demographic components of the South African construction industry.

Objectives

Construction occupations have historically been seen as being site-based, out in the open with occasionally inclement weather, which some women may not find appealing. However, the ongoing transition to digitalisation, robotics and artificial intelligence is changing construction practice and creating opportunities that should be more attractive to women, hence, the need to lift the aspiration of women and encourage them to pursue a career in construction. One key challenge that this project will be addressing is changing the culture within the industry to be more inclusive and welcoming to women. Therefore, there is a need for capacity building, enhanced training, an inclusive environment, better access to jobs, and valued diversity, to attain gender equality in the industry. To address this multifaceted issue, the following are specific objectives of IDEA-SA project:

● Critical review of the roles of educational and professional institutions as gatekeepers in making construction a career choice for girls and encouraging future entrants into the industry for women.

● Collate and analyse gender-disaggregated data (qualitative and quantitative) to understand the various barriers for females in making educational and career choices and to challenge policies at different levels.

● Develop dialogue and networking opportunities amongst Higher Education scholars and organisations across South Africa and the UK on gender equality in the construction industry.

● Develop capacity building of stakeholders to provide valuable insights into the current practice for a more gender-inclusive workplace, making a more significant impact.

● Disseminating the project’s outcomes with a broader audience worldwide through high-impact journals and a dedicated website.

The lack of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) in the construction industry is often attributed in part to two threads about gender – getting women into the industry and keeping them there (French and Strachan, 2017). Whilst recruitment remains crucial, the current culture in construction reveals a knowledge gap in translating qualifications into employment, and employment into retention - a concept known as ‘leaky pipeline’. Lack of awareness of career options and the challenges of working in a male-dominated, occasionally discriminatory workplace are some of the major barriers to attracting and keeping women in the construction industry. It starts at a young age when girls are discouraged from studying technical subjects in school, continues in college, where they are taught primarily by male lecturers and continues in the workplace, where they are treated as temporary assets.

Over the past few decades, there have been numerous efforts to increase the proportion of women in the industry, coupled with various calls for legislation and rules to prohibit gender discrimination. Despite these efforts, research reveals that there have been few noticeable changes in the industry (Norberg and Johansson, 2021). Ironically, the register of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIBD) reflects a total of 73,423 construction enterprises in South Africa of which 48% are owned by women (CIBD, 2008). Research by Madikizela and Haupt (2010) in South Africa found that few women were employed by most construction companies, and the few employed were typically in secretarial and administrative positions. Much of the literature on gender discrimination in the workplace focuses on concerns with lack of education, societal attitudes, the glass ceiling, the queen bee syndrome, and work-life balance issues, especially with women aspiring to rise to leadership roles. Attempts to raise the proportion of women in the workforce alone are insufficient to make the sector alluring enough to achieve gender parity. Therefore, IDEA-SA project aims to adopt a multi-faceted approach in tackling gender inequality in the construction industry by collecting and analysing relevant data to better understand the phenomenon and offer recommendations to transform the industry into a diverse and inclusive place to work where everyone can thrive.

Outcomes

Some of the issues that stood out in the literature as barriers to attracting and retaining women in the construction sector include; lack of knowledge of career opportunities within the construction industry, discriminatory mechanisms, work–life balance, lack of flexible work options and lack of role models. English and Jay (2015) argued that the content of barriers to women recruitment and retention in the South African construction sector has not changed. Clarke et al. (2005) and Galea et al. (2015) opined that gender-biased norms and attitudes in the industry need to be exposed and problematised to attract more women and keep them.

Therefore, the IDEA-SA project will address these issues in different ways and through the following outcomes:

● A network of academics, construction professionals, and government stakeholders to further investigate gender inequality issues and make necessary changes in their capacity.

● Collecting and analysing qualitative and quantitative data to gain insight into the complex problem with several interlinked barriers.

● Recommendations of standards to change the industry’s image, reputation, working environment, health and safety, as well as gender equality policies and strategies (best practice report)

● Publishing a minimum of three articles in open-access high-impact journals to disseminate the findings with the rest of the world.

● Creating a dedicated platform (website) to share the project findings, CPDs, relevant literature and capacity-building material for relevant professionals, academic staff, and students.

● Capacity building of all stakeholders to close gender equality gaps in their organisations and encouraging them to educate their staff on the subject.

● Highlighting the achievements of successful women in construction to inspire and motivate the next generation of female workers.

CAREER is a transformative project that transcends borders and seeks to advance gender equality, economic inclusion, and sustainable development, aligning with the SDGs and delivering benefits to partner countries, especially Vietnam. It is designed to be a collaborative project to catalyse gender equality advancements in both partner countries, aiming to break gender barriers and foster economic inclusion. Stakeholders from the U.K. and Vietnam acknowledge the pressing need to address gender disparities in the educational environment, making this project a shared priority.

Measures of success

As established in past studies, the current nature of the construction industry posed a threat to the career development of women in the sector. Hence, this project will spark a discussion on the advancement of inclusivity, evaluate the actual obstacles that women experience today, explore solutions to gender equality and devise strategies to increase industrial diversity. Successful delivery of this project will foster an increase in the proportion of women in the construction workforce which in turn could help South Africa with labour and skill shortages in the local industry.

Specifically, the success of the project will be gauged by the following:

● Uptake of education providers and construction organisations on the recommendations made for improved inclusive and gender-responsive practices.

● Awareness and engagement in gender equality education and employability, covering barriers, challenges, opportunities and possible paths and guidelines for improvement and progression.

● Number of outreach programmes, such as school visits and career fairs.

● Number of developed networks that are planned to engage in future similar projects or related research.

● Publication of outputs and their citations by other authors in the scientific community.